Books for the Girls: Live a Little!
Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash
Those who know me know I love books and I enjoy telling people about my favorites. I plan to occasionally share about books that are relevant For the Girls.
Live a Little!:
Breaking the Rules Won't Break Your Health
written by Susan M. Love, MD
and Alice D. Domar, PhD
2009
How can you argue with a book that has a chocolate-covered strawberry on the cover? This gem by two highly respected medical professionals, with extra input from several of their colleagues, is your permission to have that treat, while gently discouraging you from eating a whole tray of them!
In a time when it seems like standard health advice is changing as quickly as upgrades to your digital devices, it’s nice to have a voice encouraging us to take a step back and think.
It was originally published in 2009, so you have references to Blackberries instead of iPhones. Some of the prevailing medical wisdom has changed over the years, and that is part of their point: medical trends come and go. Do we need to scramble every time a new study is released? Not according to these experts.
They use a term “The Pretty Healthy Zone” to describe the large area where we should reside between complete neglect of our health and an unhealthy obsession with it. The six areas they discuss are sleep, stress, screenings, exercise, nutrition, and relationships, telling us: “A healthy life should be simple and enjoyable.”
Although both writers have many degrees, titles, and experiences to their credit, Domar refers to Love and herself as “a surgeon and a shrink.” This helps give the reader an idea of what influences their opinions - and opinions they have aplenty. They don’t agree on everything and don’t pretend that they do. That in itself gives the reader permission to disagree with them on certain points.
They discuss the abundance of studies that can be found to back up just about any claim. The authors encourage you to look at, among other things, what type of study it was, how many subjects participated, and who funded it. They also encourage you to think about common sense interpretation of the results that may run counter to a study’s findings.
This book, as well as this blog post, is not to be considered a replacement of the advice of your medical professional. It “is designed to help you develop a balanced perspective on your health and make informed choices.”
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Look for this book at your local library or independent bookstore.
Blog For the Girls does not receive a commission or payment for reviewing this book.
If you have an encouraging book you want to tell us about, mention it in the comments below.